Method and apparatus for jigdyeing fabrics



March 21, 1939. F c. WEDLER METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR JIG-DYEING FABRICS Filed May 28, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet l J/ C 0 O a 8 z m w fi W). A w

M ZJ m R Nm 0 w a m m w fi 5 s Z w March 21, 1939. F. c. WEDLER METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR JlG-DYEING FABRICS Filed May 28, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR fie-0501c! C 54-01 EA v m A ORNEYS March 21, 1939. F. c. WEDLER METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR JlG-DYEING FABRICS Filed May 28, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR fizaifi/cx C. M0451? BY TTORNEYS Patented Mar. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD AND arrana'rus roa JIG- DYEING memos Frederick C. Wedler, Easthampton, Mass. Application May 28, 1937, Serial N0. 145,325 8 Claims. (Cl. 8-451) 'jig-dyeing, and will be described in connection therewith.

In the usual jig-dyeing method the fabric is supplied in web form on a roll and is drawn from that roll through a bath or treating liquor, being I wound up directly on-another roll. Where the so-called vat colors are being used it is customary to apply the color first in the insoluble state by passing through a bath of the pigment, which is sometimes then dried and the web rewound. This operation is generally known as padding. The pigmented cloth is then passed through an aqueous reducing bath generally containing caustic soda and sodium hydrosulfite, which serves to change the dye into the soluble condition known as the leuco state in which it has a considerable aflinity for the cotton fibers. The dye is changed back into its insoluble colored condition by oxidation, which is accomplished by passing through an aqueous solution of sodium perborate or a combination of sodium bichromate and acetic acid. Passage through a hot soap bath and a final rinse in water removes the oxidizing chemicals. The process has been described in a simplified form, as several passes, or ends, through a single bath are usually employed in order to give the desired reaction.

As the colors in the leuco state are capable of change to the insoluble state by oxidation, and as this action can occur by mere exposure to the atmosphere (although not in a satisfactory and controllable manner), the former jig-dyeing method had numerous difficulties due to uncontrolled oxidation which it is one object 01' the present invention to eliminate. For example, as the web impregnated with the color in the leuco state was wound up outside the bath the selvedges were exposed to the atmosphere while the remainder of the web was in general protected. This resulted in excessive oxidation of color along the selvedges, and a consequent darkening in these regions, which was accentuated by the inability of the prior jig-dyeing machines to wind up the web with uniformity. A similar result occurred due to the entrapment of air adjacent any wrinkles which were formed as the web was being wound up, and to entrapment of air in the surface interstices of certain types of cloth.

These disadvantages are removed by the use of my new machine and method as will appear.

Other objects 01' the invention are to reduce to a minimum the amount of liquor necessary for treatment and to permit by the use 01' more concentrated solutions a more uniform treatment of the whole length of cloth passing through a bath; to increase the efllciency of treatment of the cloth by each bath; to prevent contamination of each bath by solution carried over from the preceding one; to make the speed of the whole length of cloth passing through a bath uniform and thereby secure uniformity of treatment; to

increase the penetration of the liquor into the interior of the yarn structure; to increase the efiiciency or the padding operation; and to provide for the simultaneous treatment of a plurality of webs to increase the capacity of the apparatus without increasing the variability of the treatment of the two ends of the web. Additional objects will appear from the following description and claims.

The present application is a continuation in part of my prior application Serial No. 54,532, filed December 16, 1935.

Referring tothe drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved dyeing apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a top plan thereof;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing a portion of the roll drive mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section through one of the friction clutch mechanisms shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section through the machine;

Fig. 7 is an end view'of tain parts broken away;

Fig. 8 is a detail section, on an enlarged scale, showing the manner of mounting one 01' the tank wind up rolls;

Figs. 9 to 12 are diagrammatic views showing successive stages in the treatment of a single web; and

Figs. 13 to 15 are similar views showing successive stages in the treatment of a double web.

The machine comprises a dual tank structure formed by curved wall members uniting in a central common partition 2|, and by end walls 22 which are preferably welded to the curved wall members. The upper edges 23 of the dual tanks are preferably cut away at an angle as shown, the outer sides being higher than the middle portion to prevent splashing; and the central partition preferably terminates somewhat short of the machine with certhe side walls to form a weir over which liquid may spill from one tank to the other ifthe level becomes too high. Normally no liquid flows over this weir. Each tank is provided with a drain valve 24 which may also serve for filling the tank if desired. The dual tank is preferably secured in position by welding the bottom of each tank to a bracket 25 extending inwardly from opposed frame structures 26.

The end walls 22 are provided with cut out sections 21 (Figs. 6 and 8) extending downwardly from their upper edges and receiving shouldered plates 28 secured to the end walls by bolts 29 which preferably terminate short of or flush with the inside faces of the end walls in order to avoid the presence of irregularities in the inner surfaces of the tanks. The plates are thicker than the walls and'their shouldered portions are so proportioned as to overlap the walls on the outside sufficiently to allow the passage of the bolts and to permit the plates to terminate flush with the inner surfaces of the tanks. This also avoids irregularities and facilitates cleaning of the tanks.

Each plate 28 is provided with an opening 39 adapted to receive a packing gland 3! that may be removably secured as by bolts 32. Through the opposed packing glands in one tank 33 passes a shaft 34 supporting a roller 35; and through the glands in the other tank 36 passes a shaft 31 supporting a roller 38. The ends of the shafts are journaled in the frame and also in bearings 39 supported on the frame structures 26. The packing glands extend a certain distance: into the tanks, and in order to allow for this and to reduce the width of the device the rollers are countersunk as at 40 to receive the glands. Each of the rollers includes a spacing collar 4| fixed to its shaft and carrying a supporting shell 42 which imparts rigidity to the surfacing material 43 which is preferably rubber. This surfacing material preferably extends around the packing glands and against the end surfaces of the spacing collars to provide a tight fit.

The frame extends upwardly at each side to provide ways 45 for the bearing members 46 and 41 of a pair of nip rolls 48 and 49. The bearing blocks 41 for the upper roll 49 are pressed downwardly by springs 50 under the control of hand wheels 5i mounted inv caps 52 secured to the frame. Guides '53 also extend upwardly from the frame to support the shaft 54 of a web supply roll 55 while permitting it to move vertically so that the periphery of the web wound on the roll will always rest on the upper nip roll 49.

In my prior application referred to, the passage of the web to and from the wind up rolls in the dual tank was under the control of a direct drive to the shafts of the wind up rolls themselves. The speed of travel of the web thus varied in accordance with the amount of material on the winding roll at any instant. In the present case the speed of the web is determined by a constant speed of rotation, in one direction or the other, given to the nip rolls, the wind-up rolls being under the control of a frictional drive which affects the tension of the web but not its speed.

Power to operate the machine is supplied in any desired manner to a shaft 60 extending along one side of the machine in bearings 6|. Slidably keyed to this shaft is a sleeve 62 carrying cone clutches engageable respectively within a pair of bevel gears free on the shaft spaced apart at a distance such that both of them simultaneously engage a bevel gear 63 carried by a transverse shaft 64. The sleeve may be moved slightly longitudinally of its shaft to couple one or the other of the gears to the shaft by a shifting 'lever 65 pivoted at 66 to the frame and is forked to straddle a-circumferential groove-in the sleeve. A shifting bar 61 extends all the way around the machine, sliding in bearings 69 and being pinned or otherwise secured to the free end of the lever 65. By this means the gear 63 can be caused to rotate in either direction as desired from any position which the operator may be in at the machine. The friction clutch mechanism is of a common commercial type and is therefore not illustrated in detail.

Also fixed on the shaft 64- are a spur gear 10 and a sprocket 1|. The spur gear 10 meshes with small pinions 12 and 13 mounted on stub shafts 14 and 15 respectively. Sprockets 16 and 11 secured to these pinions are joined by chains 18 and 19 to sprockets 89 and 8| free on the roll carrying shafts 31 and 34, the latter sprockets having flat sides so that they can serve as members of a friction clutch assembly to be described. The sprocket II is coupled by a chain 82 with a sprocket 83 on the shaft of the lower nip roll 48. There is a friction clutch assembly on each of the wind-up roll shafts, and since they are identical a description of the one on shaft 34 will suffice for both. The sprocket 3| is embraced between a clutch member-.85 pinned to the shaft and a clutch member 86 slidingly keyed to the shaft, the two members being provided with friction facings91. A spring piece 88, conveniently made in cross shape with the arms bowed, is pressed against the member 86 by a hand wheel 89 'adjustably mounted on a threaded extension 99 of the bearing 39. By adjusting the hand wheel 89 the member 86 is forced against the sprocket, and the latter forced against the member with any desired force. The friction thus produced will cause a regulable winding torque to be imposed on the shaft, slippage being always provided so that even though the speed of the web is maintained constant by the nip rolls and the tendency of the wind up is to increase its speed as the quantity of material on it builds up, no undue strain will be exerted on the web.

The operation of the parts described, and that of certain other parts to be considered later,-can best be understood in connection with some preferred method of dyeing a web. That chosen for illustration is the dyeing of a cotton fabric web with so-called vat colors which are initially applied by padding in the pigment state. The pigment is sometimes dried after it is padded onto the web, but in order to show the full adaptability of the apparatus the process will be described in the preferred form in, which the padding and subsequent reduction of the pigment are carried on as a single continuous process.

The pigment in its insoluble state is mixed with water to the desired pasty consistency and placed in at rough partially surrounding the lower nip roll. The trough is provided with guide rolls or rods 96 located within it to insure the immersion of the web, and rods 91 are fixed to the frame at the sides of the lower nip roll to guide the web away from the roll after it has been impregnated or padded. To start the dyeing operation the trough 95 is filled with pigment in paste form, one of the double vats, say 33 is filled with an aqueous solution of reducing chemicals such as caustic soda and sodium hydrosulfite, to which may be added any assisting chemicals desired. The web is drawn under one of the guides 96 as shown in Fig. 9, between the nip rolls 48 and 49, overhanebfthe guides 91, and down into the tank 33 to the wind up roll 35 around which it is given a 'turn so that it may be wound up upon rotation of the shaft 34. The machine is then started in operation by moving the clutch control rod in a direction to cause rotation of the wind up and nip rolls in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 9. The speed of the web is constant, being governed by the steady rotation of the nip rolls, while the windup roll is driven through a slip connection as described to exert only the desired winding torque on the web. When the operation is first started the liquid level 33 in tank 33 is made slightly higher thanthe level of the wind up roll, and as the roll winds up its displacement of liquor is sufilcient to cause the level to be raised to approximately that shown at 39 in Fig. .10.

It will be noted thatthe volume of pigment received by the tank 95 is relatively-small. To maintain the pigment at a proper level to be applied to the web, first by dipping and then by being carried against the web on the lower nip roll, it is necessary to add pigment during the padding operation. This may be done intermittently or by a regulated continuous feed. The amount in the tank is preferably insufllcient to complete one end or passage of the entire length of the web. This is of advantage in insuring the use of a minimum of material and in avoiding the possibility of exhausting the potency of the material during the treatment of the end. A more uniform padding action results. The efiiciency of the padding operation is also increased by the action of the nip rolls, which work the pigment thoroughly into the interstices of the web.

It will also be noticed that the web passes directly from the padding device underneath the surface of the reducing bath and that it is at once wound up while still submerged. The reducing liquor is thus brought into intimate relation to the padded web with a minimum tendency to wash the pigment out of the fabric; and in contradistinction from the usual jig dyer, is maintained in this relation without exposure to the air. As has been pointed out previously, it is the uneven exposure of different portions of the web to the oxidizing action of the atmosphere that has previously caused variation in the depth of dyeing. This is eliminated in the present machine.

When the first end is thus completed a similar bath is prepared in the tank 36, and the web run back through the nip rolls and over the guides 96 in the manner shown in Fig. 10. The tank 95 is preferably drained before this operation commences. In the single passage of the web from the roll 35 to the roll 38 it receives the equivalent of two complete passages through a jig-dyeing machine of the standary type. As the web unwinds from the roll 35 it passes through the reducing bath in the tank 33, giving it a second reducing treatment. The web then passes between the rolls .48 and 49, which works the reducing liquor into the fabricand squeezes out any excess. Without interruption the web passes underneath the surface of the liquor in tank 35 and is there again wound up while submerged. The squeezing out of the previously applied and partially spent liquor from the web both prevents contamination of the fresh bath and places the web in a condition to take up more of the liquor than would be the case were the nip rolls omitted. This double treatment at each passage, together with an intermediate squeeze by the nip rolls to prevent the liquid from one tank being carried over into the other, is a novel characteristic of the improved machine, and occurs whether the treating liquor in the two tanks is the same or different. The web receives one treatment in a tank when being wound and a similar treatment when being unwound; and receives two treatments with an intermediate squeeze at each transfer from one tank to the other.

The passage of the web between the tanks is repeated, first in one direction and then in the other, until the desired cycle' of operations has 15 been performed. The pigment having been changed by the treatment already described into the soluble or leuco state, in which it has great aflinity for the fibers, it is now necessary to reconvert it to the oxidized or insoluble state. Prior to the re-oxidation the web is passed as in Fig. 11 back into tank 33, into which cold water is allowed to flow, the drain being partly opened to maintain the level and to allow constant elimination of contaminated water. The web is then passed intotank 36, which has been filled with an aqueous solution of an oxidizing chemical such as sodium perborate or a combination of sodium bichromate and acetic acid. The web is then passed through successive soap and hot water bath; to remove the oxidizing chemicals. From the latter bath the web is passed through the nip rolls as in Fig. 12 and is rewound on the spool '55, which is rotated by contact with the upper nip roll. Besides serving as a feed for the web and a drive for the roll 55, the nip rolls act as a mangle to remove any surplus water. The web leaves the machine ready to be dried.

Other dyeing processes can be performed readily with the machine, and need not be described in detail as they differ in the chemicals used and not in the operation of the-machine or the physical steps performed on the web. Thus when using sulfur or naphthol colors it is useful to pad the web as described and then wind it on roll 35 in an empty tank, the wound roll being allowed to stand until the desired action of the color is obtained. The remainder of the treatment is given by passages between the tanks in the manner described. This gives a better action than could be obtained' with the former separate padding and jig devices as it avoids the necessity for handling the wet roll. The machine can also be used effectively to strip or remove color from incorrectly dyed webs. This is done by treatment with a hot alkaline reducing bath, and by the present invention improved results are obtained since the fabric is not made tender due to exposure to the air when-saturated with the hot bath. Fabric can be thus treated which could not be stripped at all by prior methods. The machine is. also adaptable for the treatment with caustic or preparation of high face goods which tend to entrap air between their layers when wound up, and which cannot be treated without damage in rope form in a kier.

But one further method need be described, relating to the simultaneous treatment of two webs on a machine. I have found it possible and desirable to treat two webs simultaneously, this being preferable to the single treatment of a web twice as long as there is less diiference between the length of treatment given to the first and last portions of a single passage or end". Re-

ferring for example to the reducing treatment it 75 will be seen that the portion of the web first to enter the reducing bath will be the last to leave it, while the end last to enter the bath will leave it as soon as the direction of rotation of the ma-' chine is reversed; the difference in the two times of treatment being proportional to the length of the web. If two successive treatments in the same chemical are given in the present machine, this difference will be equal and opposite in the two cases and to this extent will be largely neutralized', but I have found it better to avoid excessive web lengths by treating two webs simultaneously.

The apparatus has been shown in Figs. 13 to 15 as set up for this operation, the only changes in the apparatus being in the means for guiding the web adjacent the nip rolls. In this case the tank I00 is provided with paired guides NH, and adjacent the tank are paired guides I02 and H13 of which the former serve to direct the web to the guides I0! and the latter serve to direct the web to or from the nip rolls. The manner of guiding the web will be clear from the drawings, the important point being that the two webs are held separated while they pass into the padding pigment or into or out of the treating liquor in each of the main tanks so that equal treatment of the two webs will result. In using the double web method it is desirable to wind the webs initially on the roll 55 under uneven tensions, the web lying to the outside being given a slightly higher tension to equalize for the slightly greater diameter on which it is wound. The correct additional tension can readily be found by trial.

If the color used does not fix itself on the fabric rapidly during reduction it is desirable to dry it in place after padding; and in some cases it is also desirable to apply end flanges or disks to the rolls 35 and 38 which are set so as to just permit the web to be wound between them, "This prevents the pigment from being washed off by relative movement of the roll and the liquid in the tank as the roll rotates.

I claim.

1. A method of transferring cloth between successive separate baths of liquor which comprises unwinding the cloth from roll form while completely immersed in one bath of liquor, subjecting the unwound web to rolling pressure to remove a substantial portion of the absorbed liquor, passing the web into the next successive separate bath,,and winding it into roll form while completely immersed in'said successive bath.

2. A method of dyeing fabric which comprises winding two webs into superposed relationship on a roll, unwinding the webs from the roll, separating the webs and passing them individually into a bath of treating liquor, and winding the webs again into superposed relationship while submerged in the treating liquor.

3. A method of dyeing fabric which comprises winding two webs into superposed relationship on a roll with the outer web under greater tension than the inner web, unwinding the webs from the roll, separating the webs and passing them individually into a bath of treating liquor, and winding the webs again into superposed relationship while submerged in the treating liquor.

4'. In a cloth dyeing machine, a pair of adjacent tanks, a pair of wind-up rolls one located wholly within each tank and spaced below the top thereof a distance greater than the radius of the roll of fabric to be woundthereon, a pair of nip rolls positioned above the adjacent tank walls to conduct a web from one tank to the other, means for driving the nip rolls selectively in one direction or the other, and means for selectively and frictionally driving the wind-up rolls to wind thereon a fabric web delivered thereto by the nip rolls.

5. A method of dyeing fabric in web form with vat colors which comprises padding the web with coloring material, passing the padded web beneath the surface of a reducing bath and winding it into roll form whilecompletely immersed in said reducing bath, unwinding itfrom said roll form while completely immersed in the reducing bath, subjecting the web to rolling pressure to remove a substantial portion of the absorbed reducing bath, and similarly passing the web into,

winding it while immersed in, and withdrawing it from successive, separate washing and oxidiz-.

ing baths with intervening subjection of the web to rolling pressure.

6. In a cloth dyeing machine, a pair of adjacent tanks, a pair of wind-up rolls one located whollywithin each tank and spaced below the top thereof a distance greater than the radius of the roll of fabric to be wound thereon, a pair of nip rolls positioned above the adjacent tank walls to conduct a web from one tank to the other, a padder box positioned below the nip rolls, a guide to direct a web through the padder box, means for driving the nip rolls selectively in one direction or the other, and means for selectively and frictionally driving the wind-up rolls to wind thereon" a fabric web delivered thereto by the nip rolls.

7. A cloth dyeing machine comprising a pair of adjacent tanks, a single wind-up roll in each tank, a single pair of nip mils between the tanks, means for driving the nip rolls selectively in either direction at a constant speed, means for driving the wind-up rolls selectively and frictionally, and guides associated with each tank to separate temporarily a pair of webs passed together through the nip rolls and wound together on the wind-up rolls.

8. A method of treating a cloth web with a plurality of successive separate reagents which comprises passing the web through a bath of a first reagent and winding it into roll form, unwinding it from said roll form and again passing it through said first reagent, subjecting the web to rolling pressure to remove therefrom a substantial portion of the reagent, passing the web through a successive, separate bath of a second reagent and again winding it into roll form, unwinding'the web from said roll form and again passing it through said second reagent, and subjecting the web to rolling pressure to remove therefrom a substantial portion of the second reagent.

- FREDERICK C. WEDLER. 

